UK blames Iran for airbase plot, sanctions two Iranian nationals

Iran’s ambassador tells British officials Tehran willing to assist in UK investigation.

RAF Fairford on October 4, 2026 [David Bown/Getty Images]

Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that a suspected plot targeting Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford was “almost certainly” directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising the diplomatic stakes over the largely unexplained incident for which Tehran has denied any responsibility.

“We will not tolerate these threats on our soil,” Burnham told parliament on Monday, adding that the government, “will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams”.

“We will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm”, he said.

The incident near the airbase in southern England occurred in the early hours of September 27 when five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspected “terrorism” and explosives offences.

Police said they found a supply of petrol in three vans linked to the suspects, but no explosives.

They were later released without charge on ‌‌‌‌police ⁠⁠⁠⁠bail “under stringent conditions”. Last week, Counter Terrorism Policing arrested a 22-year-old British national on suspicion of a “terror” offence linked to the security incident. Earlier this month, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested in London.

In a statement on X, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain was sanctioning two Iranians for their “role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime”, without specifying their identity.

“We have repeatedly made clear to Iran, Britain will not tolerate threats on our soil”, he said.

The move came as 29 countries, including Britain, the US, most European states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement on Monday blaming Iran for the attempted infiltration.

“Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable”, it said.

‘Categorical rejection’

On Monday, Ali Mousavi, Iran’s ambassador to the UK, met Stephen Doughty, the UK’s minister for the Middle East, and “categorically rejected” allegations of any Iranian role while urging “the British side to refrain from any unsubstantiated statements”.

Mousavi told British authorities that Tehran is willing to cooperate with the investigation into the incident , Iran’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran’s embassy in London issued a statement last month saying Iran “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” attempting to link the country to the arrests, adding that it will “fuel Iranophobia propaganda”.

The US moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers from the base earlier this month.

RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war against Iran, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.

Located roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, RAF Fairford is the preferred European base for US bombers. Their withdrawal was made over concerns about a suspected Iranian plot to carry out a complex drone attack on the facility, according to US officials.

伊朗大使告诉英国官员，德黑兰愿意协助英国进行调查。

2026年10月4日，英国皇家空军费尔福德基地 [David Bown/Getty Images]

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆表示，针对英国皇家空军费尔福德基地的疑似阴谋“几乎可以肯定”是由伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）指挥的，这加剧了围绕这起基本未加解释的事件的外交风险，德黑兰方面否认对此负有任何责任。

“我们绝不容忍这些威胁出现在我们的领土上，”伯纳姆周一在议会表示，并补充说，政府“将严厉打击伊朗利用犯罪网络，动用一切权力打击这些犯罪网络及其资金来源”。

他说：“我们将采取进一步制裁措施，限制伊朗和伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队对我们造成伤害的能力。”

9 月 27 日凌晨，在英格兰南部空军基地附近发生了一起事件，五名 20 多岁的英国男子因涉嫌“恐怖主义”和爆炸物犯罪而被捕。

警方表示，他们在与嫌疑人有关的三辆货车中发现了汽油，但没有发现爆炸物。

他们随后在警方“严格条件下”获得保释，未被起诉。上周，反恐警察逮捕了一名22岁的英国公民，他涉嫌与这起安全事件相关的“恐怖主义”罪行。本月初，一名25岁的英伊双重国籍男子在伦敦被捕。

英国外交大臣埃德·米利班德在一份关于X的声明中表示，英国将对两名伊朗人实施制裁，原因是他们“在协助或代表伊朗政权从事敌对活动方面发挥了作用”，但没有具体说明他们的身份。

他说：“我们已经多次向伊朗明确表示，英国绝不容忍在我们领土上发生的威胁。”

此前，包括英国、美国、大多数欧洲国家、加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰在内的 29 个国家于周一发表联合声明，指责伊朗企图进行渗透。

声明称：“伊朗企图通过代理人或任何其他手段威胁、噤声、恐吓、骚扰、伤害或胁迫我国领土上的人民，这是不可接受的。”

“断然拒绝”

周一，伊朗驻英国大使阿里·穆萨维会见了英国中东事务大臣斯蒂芬·道蒂，并“断然否认”了有关伊朗参与其中的任何指控，同时敦促“英方不要发表任何未经证实的声明”。

据伊朗国家通讯社伊通社报道，穆萨维告诉英国当局，德黑兰愿意配合对该事件的调查。

伊朗驻伦敦大使馆上个月发表声明称，伊朗“断然拒绝并强烈谴责最近毫无根据的恶意猜测”，试图将伊朗与逮捕行动联系起来，并补充说，这将“助长仇伊宣传”。

本月初，美国已将其 B-52 和 B-1 轰炸机从该基地撤离。

英国皇家空军费尔福德基地一直是参与对伊朗战争的美国轰炸机的中转站。这场战争始于七个多月前的2月28日。

英国皇家空军费尔福德基地位于伦敦以西约160公里（100英里）处，是美国轰炸机在欧洲的首选基地。据美国官员称，美军撤离该基地是出于对伊朗涉嫌密谋对该基地发动复杂无人机袭击的担忧。